Category: Spasticity
Objective: To analyse the neuroimaging findings and to establish a correlation between clinical features and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) patterns in children with cerebral palsy (CP).
Background: MRI can be used to analyze the location, nature and severity of brain damage in CP. Few studies have investigated the contribution of MRI in predicting the clinical phenotype and the prognosis of CP in children.
Method: We conducted a prospective cohort study including children with CP who consulted at the Department of Child and Adolescent Neurology of the National Institute of Neurology of Tunis during the period from January 1 to February 28, 2023. We assessed the functional status using Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). GMFCS was classified into mild-moderate (level I-III)/ severe (level IV-V) categories. We analyzed neuroimaging patterns of each patient and applied the MRI classification system (MRICS) of the Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe (SCPE)
Results: We enrolled 60 children. The mean age was 3,7 years [1-18]. Sex-ratio (M/F) was 1,37. Severe forms have been found in 36% of the patients. They were associated with porencephalic cavities (p=0,04), ischemic strokes (p=0,015) and bilateral lesions (p=0,007). Predominant grey matter injury (MRICS Class C) was significantly associated with quadriparetic forms (p=0,02), but not with severe forms of CP (p=0,39). White matter involvement (MRICS Class B) was significantly associated with paraparetic forms(p=0,02) but not with severe forms of the disease (p=0,39). Basal ganglia involvement was significantly associated with mixed (spastic and dystonic) forms of CP (p=0.007).
Conclusion: Our study suggests that cerebral imaging can predict the clinical phenotype of CP. Since severity is correlated with a number of other factors such as genetics and therapeutic management, brain MRI is not sufficient on its own to establish a prognosis of the CP. Further large-scale studies will be necessary to confirm this hypothesis.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
M. Ben Hafsa, H. Benrhouma, M. Jamoussi, T. Ben Younes, Z. Miladi, A. Zioudi, H. Klaa, I. Kraoua, S. Nagi, I. Ben Youssef-Turki. Neuroimaging and correlation with functional status in children with cerebral palsy [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2023; 38 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/neuroimaging-and-correlation-with-functional-status-in-children-with-cerebral-palsy/. Accessed June 15, 2025.« Back to 2023 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/neuroimaging-and-correlation-with-functional-status-in-children-with-cerebral-palsy/